Chennai Beneficiaries Wait Hours as Digital System Fails During Pongal Distribution
Technical failures disrupt Pongal gift distribution across Chennai.
Network connectivity issues severely hampered the distribution of Pongal gift hampers in Chennai on Saturday, leaving thousands of beneficiaries waiting for hours at various centres. The Tamil Nadu government initiative, aimed at providing essential items to eligible families during the harvest festival, faced significant delays due to repeated failures in the online verification and token generation system.
Officials reported that the digital platform, used to authenticate beneficiaries and issue distribution tokens, experienced intermittent outages throughout the morning. Long queues formed outside distribution points in several neighbourhoods, with many senior citizens and daily-wage workers expressing frustration over the prolonged wait. Authorities attributed the problem to unexpected server overload and intermittent internet connectivity at multiple locations.
Despite the challenges, distribution teams continued manual verification processes wherever possible to prevent complete standstill. However, the pace remained slow, and several centres had to extend their operating hours to accommodate the backlog. The government has promised to expedite the remaining distributions and ensure all eligible families receive their gifts without further delay.
Also Read: Tamil Nadu Pongal Gift Hampers: CM Stalin to Launch Distribution on January 8
The incident has drawn criticism from opposition parties, who questioned the preparedness of the digital infrastructure for such large-scale welfare schemes. Officials countered that the system generally functions smoothly and that the current disruption was an isolated technical glitch being addressed on priority. Steps are underway to strengthen backup mechanisms for future events.
As the Pongal festival approaches, the administration has assured the public that all pending gift distributions will be completed within the next two days. Beneficiaries have been requested to remain patient and check with local authorities for updated schedules at their respective centres. The episode underscores the need for robust offline contingencies in technology-dependent public welfare programmes.
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